QB Studs

BRADY, TOM - NE

For the past two years, Fantasy owners didn't know how to approach
Tom Brady
on Draft Day. In 2015, there was the threat of a suspension for Deflategate, but Brady was able to play 16 games and finished as the No. 2 Fantasy quarterback in standard leagues. Then last year he was suspended for four games, but he still put together a successful campaign. He finished as the No. 15 quarterback in 2016, but he averaged just under 26 Fantasy points a game in the 12 games he was active. If you project that over 16 games, he would have finished as the No. 4 quarterback behind
Aaron Rodgers
,
Matt Ryan
and
Drew Brees
. And this year, he should be even better with the healthy return of
Rob Gronkowski
, as well as the addition of
Brandin Cooks
from the
New Orleans Saints
and
Dwayne Allen
from the
Indianapolis Colts
.
Martellus Bennett
is gone as a free agent to the
Green Bay Packers
, but Brady also has
Julian Edelman
,
Malcolm Mitchell
,
Chris Hogan
,
Danny Amendola
and running backs in
Rex Burkhead
,
Dion Lewis
and
James White
. It might be the most complete receiving corps of Brady's career, and he's hoping for another Super Bowl run after winning the title last year with a victory against Atlanta. We consider Brady one of the first two or three quarterbacks off the board, along with Rodgers and potentially
Andrew Luck
, and he should be drafted in all leagues no later than Round 3. Really, the lone concern with Brady at this point is age since he'll be 40 in August, but his play last year showed no signs of slowing down. He remains an elite Fantasy option in all leagues this season.

RODGERS, AARON - GB

There wasn't a quarterback better in Fantasy last year than Aaron Rodgers, and there shouldn't be a quarterback picked ahead of him this summer. Rodgers averaged 27.8 Fantasy points per game, better than Matt Ryan and Tom Brady. Those numbers came thanks to a career-high in pass attempts (610), a five-year high in passing yards, and a league-best 40 passing touchdowns. He also rushed for four scores. Rodgers' huge totals happened for a reason -- the Packers simply could not run the ball effectively most of the time. That meant he had to do everything on offense. The Packers tried to address their run game in the draft, but there's actually no guarantee they'll be any better on the ground than they were last year, when they finished 20th in run offense and 29th in rush attempts. So long as his receiving corps is healthy and his running backs contribute through the air, Rodgers is an obvious Fantasy stud. Upgrading from Jared Cook to Martellus Bennett at tight end will help things along, too. You should expect Rodgers to go in Round 2 in standard leagues and Round 3 in PPR -- pretty late for a player as talented and productive as he is. Obviously he's worth the No. 1 overall pick in leagues that can start multiple quarterbacks.

RYAN, MATT - ATL

A year ago, Ryan was one of the least desirable quarterbacks in Fantasy Football. But he's in demand again after throwing for career-highs in yardage and touchdowns en route to the 2016 MVP Award. His offensive line protected him well, he had a ton of help in the passing game from a number of role players, not to mention some excellent work with stud receiver Julio Jones. Ryan should use the same formula to put up strong stats again in 2017, but typically MVP quarterbacks tend to regress following their big seasons. The Falcons also will have a new offensive coordinator in Steve Sarkisian, a first-year NFL playcaller. So long as Jones stays healthy, Ryan should finish above his career averages of 4,189 yards and 27 touchdowns. He shouldn't get picked ahead of Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, but Ryan is in the mix as a Top 5 Fantasy passer worth a pick in Round 5 or so.

BREES, DREW - NO

Consistency. Reliability. Productivity. Not many players in the Fantasy Football universe can be described using these words, but Drew Brees certainly can. He's finished as a Top 6 quarterback in Fantasy in 11 straight seasons, landing the No. 3 spot in 2016. He's thrown for at least 4,850 yards in each of his last six campaigns, topping 5,000 yards in four of them. As for touchdowns, Brees has thrown at least 32 in nine straight seasons. The knock on Brees is that he's getting old and doesn't have Brandin Cooks to throw to anymore. The Saints will replace Cooks' deep speed with Ted Ginn (who's actually played fairly well the past two seasons), and judging by all the stats you just read, Brees doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. With 10 indoor games and not a lot of scathing secondaries in his future, Brees should put together another solid season. Look for him after Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady get drafted in your leagues, around 40th overall in standard leagues and 50th overall in PPR formats.

Wilson, Russell - SEA

Limited by injuries throughout 2016, Wilson failed to finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback for the first time in his career. Wilson tossed 21 touchdowns (second lowest of his career) and rushed for a career-low 259 yards on 72 carries. On the plus side, Seattle leaned more on its passing game, which allowed Wilson a career-high 4,219 passing yards (10th in the NFL). He's finished no worse than 11th in yards per attempt and no lower than third in carries among quarterbacks during each of his five pro seasons. Wilson's low fantasy ceiling (just six top-10 weeks) and massive bust rate (seven weeks outside the top 20) are red flags, but Wilson will certainly be a rebound candidate at full health in 2017.